Popular In Life And Death (Script)
Popular In Life And Death is the pilot and premiere episode for House Of Secrets, as well as the first episode in Season 1 Season 1 of House Of Secrets. EXT. Woods - Lauren's Backyard - Night Camera centers on the woods and then zooms in on the girls. A black-gloved hand comes out and lays a hand on a tree. You can evidently see Sarah telling a ghost story, but you cannot hear her. Then, the scene begins. SARAH: The end. She claps her hands together, laughing in a buffoonish fashion. The other girls laugh as well. JULIA: That was some story. Tell another. She smiles childishly and leans in, prompting her to tell another ghost story. LAUREN: Wait! I want to tell one. CARRY: No, I want to! Lauren then turns to face her and gives her a friendly push. LAUREN: But, you already told one. I think it should be - (Whine. Voice is cut off by a noise in the woods.) All the girls turn around, for they know something's out there. CARRY: What was that? She says this and then gets up and turns around.She looks like she's on the defensive. SARAH: I don't know...but I want to find out. She gets up too and then the rest of the girls get up as well. Carry leads the way away from the campfire and the rest of the girls follow. They carry their flashlights through the woods and look around, cautiously. Eventually, a girl jumps out at them from behind a tree. They all scream and Carry falls back. Lauren catches her and helps her back up. MADELINE: Did I scare you? She hoots a small laugh and then picks up the wood she found and goes back to the campfire, elbowing past Lauren. CARRY: Well...yeah! Why would you do that? She says this accusingly but then laughs and smiles. She turns around to face Madeline in the middle of her line. Madeline is back by the campire. She puts the wood in the fire and dusts off her hands. MADELINE: I don't know...I guess I was just bored. I mean...I thought this was supposed to be a party. Not some boring get-together. SARAH: Well, we were just telling ghost stories. Care to join in on the fun? Sarah smiles in a begging way and holds out her hands in a frantic motion. JULIA: Who needs ghost stories when you have Maddie to scare you? Julia looks sidelong at Sarah and then heads over to the campfire and takes up a seat beside Madeline. MADELINE: You know she's right, Sarah. I mean, I don't want to brag or anything...but...I am like the queen of horror. In a good way, you know. The girls laugh and head over to the campfire. Sarah looks bummed out but heads over to the campfire anyway and gets over it. LAUREN: So, what took you so long to get firewood? MADELINE: I don't know...I guess it just took a while. She smirks at the girls and all of them laugh. Except, Lauren doesn't look convinced. LAUREN: You sure you spent the whole time getting firewood? You didn't do anything else? MADELINE: Why you asking so many questions, Laur'. I mean, I know you're like...a nerd, but sometimes you really just need to give it a rest. Madeline laughs and pats Lauren on the knee. Lauren laughs back and doesn't ask anything else. MADELINE (CONT'D): So, who's ready for some liquid fun? Madeline cracks up and so does everyone else. Madeline reaches into her back pocket and starts passing the flask to Julia, but a piece of paper falls out of her pocket. Everyone looks at it curiously but Lauren speaks first. LAUREN: What's that? That thing that fell out of your pocket. MADELINE: Oh, that's nothing. Just some note my mom gave me earlier today. Madeline pockets the note again and then hands the flask to Julia. Julia hesitates. MADELINE (CONT'D): What are you waiting for? Drink up. Everyone laughs and then the girls start drinking out of the flask. Time passes by and then the camera focuses in on Sarah sleeping. Sarah suddenly wakes up and looks around. Madeline is gone, so she wakes everyone else up. Carry flinches awake. CARRY: What's wrong? Everyone else is awake by this point SARAH: Maddie's gone. Everyone looks around alarmingly and then the camera shows them from an aerial view. The scene ends after a few seconds of this. INT. Julia's Kitchen - Day 1 The camera focuses on a house and then slowly zooms in. Then, the scene shifts to inside the house with Julia coming down the stairs. Her mother is at the kitchen table, looking at a gift basket. JULIA'S MOM: Oh, honey...you're down. Great! Can you take this over to the Shriver's House? (casually) Julia's face lights up in surprise. JULIA: Wh-why? (Shaky voice) JULIA'S MOM: Because it's the right thing to do, honey. Now, take this to them. We don't want to waste any time. She hands the gift basket to Julia and Julia groans, but takes it anyway. She turns around and starts walking away towards the door. EXT. Brookville Street - Eva's House - Day 1 Julia walks across the road and looks both ways. She walks up to the Shriver's house. Julia rings the doorbell with the gift basket in her hands. The door opens and Julia becomes surprised. The woman gives a strange look back. JULIA: Oh, sorry...it's just...you're not Mrs. Shriver. EVA'S MOM: Umm...yeah I'm not. Is that for me? She smiles and then looks down at the basket and lightly grabs it from Julia's hands. JULIA: Oh, well will she be back soon? Julia looks extremely confused and she eyes the gift basket longingly. EVA'S MOM: Umm, actually we're the only ones living here: me, my husband, and my daughter. Is there any reason why a "Mrs. Shriver" should be living here, hon? (softly and sweetly) JULIA: Oh, I'm so sorry. I-I thought she still lived here. I've been gone for a year...so, well, it's a long story. Julia laughs to rid the awkwardness. JULIA (CONT'D): I guess what I'm trying to say is...I didn't know someone had moved into this house in the time I was gone. EVA'S MOM: Oh, I get ya'. Well, thank you for the gift basket. I'll give your mom a gift card when I'm done unpacking. Thanks again! Julia turns around and begins walking away, but then she turns around and speaks. JULIA: Wait, how did you know my mom made the... The door is closed by the time she's facing the house, though. When Julia starts walking away, the camera pivots back to the door. The door creaks open a bit and we can vaguely see a person on the other side, with their hand on the outside of the door. Then, the scene ends.